Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer slowly until reduced by half or syrupy -

about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in sesame seeds, and cool.

Pour half of syrup into a baking dish, add salmon coating both sides and marinate for 1 hour.

Grill the salmon or broil - about 4 minutes per side.

Brush the fish with the remaining teriyaki sauce as it cooks.

This recipe can be baked on 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes uncovered then put broiler on for 3-5 minutes.

WINE

Wine pairing can be fun when entertaining. I must admit because my husband dabbles in wine futures our wine cellar is filled with some amazing wines. When we have a dinner party we enjoy choosing the wines for each course. Sometimes I print out menus and write under each course the wine we are serving. Guests enjoy talking about them. My husband also prints out Robert Parker descriptions and reviews which can be fun to see if we all taste what Mr. Parker describes.

MOLASSES COOKIES

molasses cookies

MOLASSES COOKIES

Makes 2 ½ dozen

I love the smell of my kitchen when I am baking these cookies. Once the Fall comes I’m driven to baking them. My 3 sons took an art class when they were toddlers and part of the class included baking cookies. This was a recipe that the teacher shared with us. It’s a classic Molasses Cookie that has a soft chewy center. Some people call them ginger snaps but I prefer to call these Molasses as they come out a dark brown color.

350 degree oven

Lightly butter cookie sheets

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon each ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon*

1 ½ sticks of sweet unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling)

1 beaten egg

In one bowl add your flour, baking soda, spices. (Put them through a sifter).

*If you really like the taste of ginger – just add a little more. Make these the way your family likes them. Some kids like more cinnamon and less ginger. Experiment!

STEAK WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE

CARDS

These one of a kind cards are for sale. All cards are $2.00 and all proceeds go to the Brookline Food Pantry.

FRENCH MENU

When entertaining have fun with your theme of the evening. A friend gave me a french cookbook and as a way of thanking her I invited her and some friends over for dinner creating some of the recipes from the book.

THE IMITATION GAME

“The Imitation Game” is a historical film set in Britain in 1952. The World War II hero, Alan Turing (played magnificently by Benedict Cumberbatch) goes through life as a mathematical genius and extraordinary cryptologist who struggles socially but ultimately triumphs by breaking the German secret code known as Enigma.

Directed by Morten Tyldum and co-written by Andrew Hodges (based on his book “Alan Turing: The Enigma”) and Graham Moore, this film was a fantastic team work effort where all the players – Screenplay, Directing, Acting (Keira Knightley was great), even Costumes and Makeup were pure perfection.

I especially enjoyed the flashbacks of Alan as a child where you see how tormented and brutally bullied he was by classmates. You feel deeply for him as he comes to realize he has feelings for a boy in his class but only to loose him to a sad much too early death.

Later after the war is over again you feel so sad for this war hero as he is ultimately accused of a devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality. To learn that the government could actually force men to take hormone therapy to “cure” them was sickening to me. At the end, I wanted to cheer out loud when they scrolled on the screen how Elizabeth, her majesty reversed his record and awarded him posthumously (he ultimately committed suicide) an award for his incredible part in shortening the war and saving millions of lives.

Please see this movie as you will learn more about World War II and the efforts made to end it and to also learn how a great man was treated at a time in our history where our understanding about sexual orientation was grossly misguided.